Cal Am water customers have ally in complaints

After residents continued to complain of spiking water bills, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District vowed on Monday to push the issue with the state Public Utilities Commission.

Customers of California American Water Co. spoke up about their sudden bill spikes at a meeting of the water management district board in Monterey.

Taking on the role of ombudsmen for those customers, the water district's board unanimously agreed to direct its Water Demand Committee to draft a resolution or letter to the PUC addressing the issue and suggesting ways to deal with the ongoing problem.

The decision followed months of complaints from customers and reports in The Herald of water users such as Craig Walsh, son of late 49ers coach Bill Walsh.

Walsh recently hired a professional leak inspector who detected no leaks explaining Walsh' sudden $5,000 monthly water bills for his Pacific Grove home last summer.

Four other Cal Am customers wrote letters to the water district and more spoke during Monday's meeting.

George Riley of Monterey-based Citizens for Public Water called for "some kind of investigation" independent of Cal Am to look into the frequency and causes of the spikes.

The only choice up till now, he said, has been to trust Cal Am. "They are totally in control ... of the entire process."

Cal Am customer Lindy Levin said the high bills cannot be explained away by the company's increased fees and tiered billing rates.

"These volumes are significant. These are whopper bills" she said.

In the case of Walsh, whose monthly bill was for 84,000 gallons of water, she said that amount of loss would mean he had 24 leaky toilets "running 24-seven."

Cal Am's solution in some cases has been to offer a one-time "leak adjustment," which essentially changes the billing amount to a lower rate.

"They offer a leak adjustment even when there is no leak," Levin said.

Jennifer Russo said she had two spiked bills a year apart.

"We have to have another solution," she said. "The leak adjustment isn't it."

On Monday the water board also unanimously approved several ways to make it easier for water customers to file complaints with the Public Utilities Commission.

Cal Am General Manager Eric Sabolsice said after the meeting that the company has already included an insert about bill spikes in its latest customer mailing.

A copy of the insert was provided in the meeting's agenda packet, although it did not include information about the PUC complaint process.

"We prefer that people call our Pacific Grove office," Sabolsice said after the meeting.

The brochure suggested that bills totaling in the thousand of dollars are likely attributable to the company's latest tiered rate structure — and leaky toilets.

The brochure, formatted as a letter from Sabolsice, states, "In most cases these occurrences can be traced to unrepaired leaks, which under the current rate design can add up to an expensive problem if not dealt with promptly. As an example, a leak of one gallon per minute in a toilet could result in an additional $2,000/month charge on your water bill," the pamphlet reads. "The goal with these rates is to make sure customers with leaks find them and fix them, and in that regard the rates are working."

Sabolsice said the most common cause of unexplained high water use is a leaky toilet.

In response to the complaints of customers like Walsh and Carmel Valley resident Toni Ray who submitted letters from plumbers and professional inspectors who uncovered no leaks in their homes, Sabolsice says "toilet leaks are often intermittent, which means they may be overlooked by a plumber."

Ray may well be considered the queen of Cal Am spikes after she received a $9,800 bill that the company eventually lowered to around $2,400 after a leak adjustment.

The board's approved steps also included:

· Having the Monterey Peninsula Water District serve as the "local ombudsman" for customers who want to lodge complaints about spikes with the California Public Utilities Commission. In addition, the committee said the water district should provide information about filing PUC complaints on its website and in its newsletter .

· Asking Cal Am to modify its high bill adjustment policy at the next General Rate Case review.

· Asking Cal Am to supply data on spiked billing complaints from other areas where it provides service.

Echoing sentiments expressed by other water district directors, David Pendergrass said, "I don't understand why Cal Am can't find a solution ... I'd be terribly upset if I got one of these bills."

Director Brenda Lewis said Toni Ray's case "leaves me speechless."

Directors were quick to point out that the district has no authority over Cal Am, but the PUC does.

The directors also said they would look into one customer's list of possible malfunction causes in equipment made by Neptune Technology Group, the company that manufactures Cal Am's newest meters. Sabolsice said around 40 percent of customers use the newer meters.

Sabolsice asked local customers with bill spike problems to call Cal Am's Pacific Grove office at 646-3205. "We want to make it right by these customers."

"We are willing to work with the water district and the PUC about bill spikes," he said.

Sabolsice said Cal Am's inspectors are "finding leaks" when they investigate most of the high bill complaints. But if no leaks are found, "we still offer the re-adjustment. We look forward to hearing from any of our customers. We ask that they reach out and talk it through."

If that doesn't resolve the issue, he said, "they can contact the PUC. They have that option."